The Government’s new decree on the management, supply and use of
Internet services and online information aims to protect the
intellectual property right and copyright of press agencies.

Hoang Vinh Bao, Head of the Department of Radio, TV and Electronic
Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, made
the remarks in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on Decree No.
72/2013/ND-CP issued on July 15.

Under the decree, websites
are grouped into five categories - e-newspapers in the form of websites,
news websites, internal websites, personal websites and specialised
websites - in order to make it easier for the management work.

The decree does not limit the freedom of the press or the voices of
social media users, Bao said, reasoning that it only clamps down on the
activities that take advantage of the social network to run Internet
services and online postings against the State, harm national security
and social order and undermine the great national unity.

It
also prohibits the spread of social evils as well as banned goods and
services and the disclosure of the State’s secrets in national defence
and security, economics and foreign policies among others.

The prohibition targets misleading information that slanders and
defames the prestige of organisations, and honour and dignity of
individuals, Bao said.

According to the official, social
network users need to share sources of information they exchange with
the online community and take full responsibility for their comments on
the information as required by the decree.

The
above-mentioned regulations are in line with other relevant documents
issued by the State and international law, he affirmed, adding that any
social media user violating the regulations will be fined in accordance
with law.-VNA